The Landscape Institute is pleased to encourage members to contribute to Natural England’s update of its ‘Approach to Landscape Character Assessment’ (2014) document.

This consultation will give you the opportunity to shape an important document that guides the evaluation of landscape and can help influence the planning, management, and protection of our environment. The aim of the update is to ensure that the document is fit for purpose and that Landscape Character Assessments (LCAs) provide sound evidence for managing change and strategic thinking about our future landscapes.

Now is a time of significant landscape change driven by climate change, the biodiversity crisis, new environmental and agricultural policy post Brexit, the drive to net zero and responding to the needs of a growing population. Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) should be used as one of the tools to guide positive landscape change and in doing so, play a role in helping to tackle these challenges.

The review aims to ensure that the LCA Approach document, which guides the production of LCAs, remains at the heart of the process and is fit for purpose – and that LCAs provide sound, underpinning evidence for managing change through influencing strategic thinking and decision-making. The project provides an important opportunity for a collaborative approach, engaging all those with an interest in conserving and enhancing our diverse and distinctive landscapes into the future.

There are 3 main components to the review: 

1. 1. 1. 1. Considering any changes needed to update the ‘Approach to Landscape Character Assessment’ (2014) guidance document.
         2. Focusing on the application of LCA to help make judgements and integrate with other tools and processes.
         3. Building long-term collaboration between all those who work in landscape and land management, using LCA as the means of drawing them together.

In the first instance, Natural England is undertaking a period of stakeholder engagement with a three-week survey, open until 1 March, followed by workshops at the end of March.